1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a system to prevent continuous excess fluid flow, such as a flow of water to a toilet tank following a flush cycle, which utilizes a secondary resetting shut-off valve assembly. More in particular, the present system incorporates a novel valve mechanism which automatically resets itself upon completion of a normal flow cycle, such as a flush cycle, in preparation for a subsequent cycle, but which will positively shut-off fluid flow in the event that a primary flow control assembly of the toilet fails.
2. Description of the Related Art
Although a majority of the Earth's surface is covered by water, sources of fresh water for drinking, cooking, bathing, etc., have long been known to be limited. As such, conservation of water, mainly in the form of minimizing or eliminating excess usage and/or waste of our water resources continue to be part of our daily lives. For example, water saving shower heads which limit the gallons per minute discharged, regardless of how much a user may open the hot and/or cold water valves are often mandated for new construction. Additionally, low flow toilet structures which limit the volume of water per flush are more and more common and are also mandated in certain instances. In the extreme, water bans are more frequently instituted which limit activities such as washing a car or watering a lawn.
A common and persistent source of water waste is present in almost every home and business in the country, and in fact, around the world. Specifically, failure of a standard toilet flow control assembly for a toilet tank is a common and recurring source of water waste. This is due in part to the fact that there are several common failure points within most standard toilet flow control assemblies. First, it is almost inevitable that at some point, the flapper valve of a standard toilet flow control assembly will not properly reseat, in which case, water will continue to steadily drain into the toilet bowl, and the toilet tank will be continuously refilled until the flapper valve is again properly reseated, either during a subsequent flush cycle, or it is otherwise repaired or replaced.
Another common problem with standard flow control assemblies is a float system utilized to stop flow through a primary shut off valve in the toilet tank. More in particular, a primary shut-off valve typically relies upon a mechanical linkage to a float member within the toilet tank, such that the primary valve is closed and flow is discontinued, once the float reaches a preset level within the toilet tank. However, it is not uncommon for either the float member to stick or otherwise become hung up in the toilet tank, thereby preventing the linkage from acting upon the primary shutoff valve, as is required to positively stop flow. Another common pitfall in such standard flow control assemblies is the failure or partial failure of the seat of the primary shut-off valve such that even when the float member attains the preset level and the linkage acts upon the valve as necessary, a certain amount of flow continues to enter the toilet tank which then flows into the toilet bowl and out through the drain.
While many people are aware of the foregoing problems which result in water being wasted because of a defective toilet flow control assembly, many do not realize that these seemingly small leaks can result in hundreds if not thousands of gallons of water wasted over even a short period of time.
To address this problem, a number of devices have been developed to alleviate the problem of water being wasted due to a standard toilet flow control assembly. One such device replaces part of a standard toilet flow control assembly, i.e., a float and shut-off valve, with a valve means having a water flow inlet and a water flow outlet which is divided into divergent streams. One stream is simply directed into the tank to fill the same, while the other stream is directed towards a turbine means. This device further comprises an actuation means structured to open an inlet valve means and initiate flow, and an operation means cooperating with the turbine means to hold the inlet valve open and permitting flow only until the turbine means rotates through a predetermined number of revolutions, at which point the inlet valve means is closed and flow into the tank is terminated.
Several similar devices have been described which utilize a turbine or water wheel to provide a measure of flow into a toilet tank which comprise a housing for the wheel through which the entire inlet flow of water must pass through, rather than the divergent flow streams of the aforementioned device. As with the aforementioned device, these similar devices require an actuation mechanism to initiate the flow of water into the tank.
Although each of these devices eliminate the aforementioned problem with regard to the float being hung up and/or the linkage failing to completely reseat the shut-off valve, none of these devices provide any means to prevent the flow of water in the event the inlet valve fails to close completely. Thus, if any of these devices fails to completely close the inlet valve, for example, in the event of failure of the valve seat, water will continue to flow into the tank, and then into the toilet bowl, and out to the drain, thus continuing to permit water to be wasted.
Thus, it would be beneficial to provide a means to assure that water does not continue to flow to a toilet tank in the event of any failure of a primary flow control assembly, whether it be caused by a float, a shut-off valve, a flapper valve, or any combination thereof. It would also be helpful to provide a mechanism which a user must manually reset after a failed flush cycle, thereby alerting the user of a flush cycle failure. Also, it would be desirable to provide such a mechanism which may be readily installed in-line to an existing water supply line to a toilet. An additional benefit may be realized by providing such a mechanism which does not require actuation after installation during normal operation of the primary flow control assembly.